Rebel, Rebel

I have been wanting to get this off my chest for some time now, but I keep putting it off.It's controversial. It may make some people angry. It's about pregnancy "rules" and it's coming from a pregnant woman who has so far created a beautiful baby pretty much out of sodium nitrates and caffeine. If you just felt the heat rise up into your face after reading that then perhaps you should just click out of this blog now.

The very minute a woman sees the 2 pink lines on that pee stick (or whatever shape/color/word/icon may be on your brand) she is instantly bombarded with worry. It is a mother's brain that does this to herself, there's no way around that, but much of it comes from society. What's the first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant the first time? I went on a book-buying spree. I needed complete strangers to tell me how to handle something that was going on in my own body, something that women have been handling themselves since the dawn of time. Since Eve ate that apple...darn her.

Let me get to the point. There is an ever-growing "list" of things a pregnant woman should stay far away from. There is not one master copy you can go check-out at your local library, but there is a "list" alright. You can find versions of it in any pregnancy book, on any google search, every TV show or movie that features a pregnant woman, every restaurant warning sign, and especially random strangers. Here's a quick quiz for anyone who's NOT been pregnant or is a single man: Can a pregnant woman eat sushi? Can a pregnant woman drink caffeine? How about feta cheese? I'll bet from all the information you've gathered, the results are a resounding "NO WAY!" I rest my case. Please keep in mind that I am being extreme on both sides of my issues to prove a point. This is just what I've gathered from MUCH research on these topics. Allow me to expand upon this:

1) Fish

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: Stay away from high mercury fish (including canned albacore/solid white tuna), shellfish, and limit all other fish consumption (including canned chunk light tuna) to 1-2 servings per week.

WHAT THEY DON'T TELL US: There are a certain handful of fish that are very high in mercury to stay away from. Most I've never even seen in a seafood restaurant. (Tilefish? That just SOUNDS gross already!) All the others are fine in moderation, and mercury only builds up over a long period of time, so it's all about moderation. Oh, and shellfish is fine. Side note: while researching this, I came across Mahi Mahi on the DO NOT EAT list on a few sites. This was news to me, as I do eat it on occasion. Then during more research, I found it was actually on the "lower mercury" chart and is fine in moderation.

2) Sushi

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: Don't even get near the stuff! If you must go to a sushi bar to get your veggie roll or a cooked piece of fish that you ARE allowed to have, make sure they use a different prep board to make yours on so there's no cross-contamination from the raw fish.


WHAT THEY DON'T TELL US: The risk for a pregnant woman to get a parasite from sushi is the same risk as anyone else. If you do get sick from sushi, it does not harm the baby, but only would cause the mother discomfort and dehydration in the worst case scenario. If you trust your sushi place, there's really no higher risk you're taking just because you're pregnant.

3) Caffeine

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: Switch to decaf coffee, drop your soda and tea habit. Your kid can have low birth weight, ADHD, or numerous other problems.


WHAT THEY DON'T TELL US: You can safely have up to 300 mg of caffeine per day without any problems. If you don't know about caffeine content, check here: http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm With the exception of Starbucks coffee (Holy cow!!), everything else is pretty low in caffeine. I'm an iced tea drinker myself, so I try to keep it at 2 a day, 3 max. I mean, for crap's sake, a RED BULL is only 80mg and those things freak me out!!

4) Alcohol

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: Stay away from it.


WHAT THEY DON'T TELL US: I know this is a touchy one, but not too long ago (and some still do) doctors would actually recommend a small glass of wine to pregnant women for relaxation. I am not saying that drinking alcohol is great for pregnant women and should be encouraged, but an occasional drink here and there is not going to cause the problems that "they" try to scare us with. I just find that it makes me sleepy, so it's not as much fun as it used to be. I think that's God's way of saying it's just better to wait if I want a "good" buzz. ;)

5) Deli Meats

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: Do not eat unless we heat up the meat to steaming before making a sandwich.


WHAT THEY DON'T TELL US: First of all, let me just say that my doctor actually laughed at this one when I brought it up. The potential "danger" here is listeriosis, caused by a bacteria which can be killed when heated. Yes, the disease is pretty serious and can cause fetal damage, but it is extremely rare. The last listeria outbreak caused 146 cases in 28 states and was linked to...cantaloupe. Need I say more?

6) Hot Baths

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: If you sit in a spa or hot bath, it can cause birth defects or miscarriage.

WHAT THEY DON"T TELL US: Anything that can potentially raise your body temperature over 101 degrees and keep it there for a period of time could be harmful to your baby. I may be the minority here, but my baths at home are nowhere near that hot! So yeah, I can't go in a spa, but that's ok.

7) Soft cheeses (brie, feta, blue cheese, etc.)

WHAT WE ARE TOLD: All soft cheese can have listeria. Stay away and stick to the hard cheeses.

WHAT THEY DON"T TELL US: Listen carefully...you can eat any cheese, as long as it's PASTEURIZED. Unpasteurized milk products are banned in half of the states and the other half have very strict laws regarding the origins and labeling of the products. It's very hard to even find an unpasteurized cheese these days...and I can guarantee that you won't find it in restaurants!

I could go on and on all night, but my main points are:

1) Do your homework. If you hear about something to avoid, find out why first. There's a lot of reasons for these things. Some more serious than others, you make the choice.

2) Use your instinct. If it feels wrong, DON'T do it!

I have gestational diabetes, and with everything that's been cut out of my diet, I can't imagine having to give up bacon, salami, hot dogs, over easy eggs, seared ahi, medium rare steaks, not to mention salt!

Just don't blindly follow along, that is all I ask. I kind of use this motto for most things in life, it doesn't mean you have to argue with everyone. Think for yourself! Unless it's your doctor, then you can ask the reasons why before you follow his orders. ;) You'll still learn something along the way.

Every pregnant woman has her own feelings about what she puts into her body, as she should. And also, every doctor has different rules. I told my friend my doc gave my Tylenol with codeine for my back and she said hers wouldn't. Only you and your doctor can tell you what to do or what not to do, I just wish the public would stop feeding us with all this crap to worry about while at the same time telling us that stress is bad for a developing fetus! We can't win!!

If anyone has any concerns about the health of my unborn child after everything I've just told you I've put unto my body in the last 6 months, go check out my ultrasound pics. The lady who did them was going on and on about how healthy and great she looked, even went through all of her internal organs and said they were "perfect"...so far so good anyway. ;)